Street-car fender.



No. 642,|56. Patented vlan. 30, |900. L. H. HEPPELL i J. P. GROFF.

STREET CAR FENDER.

(Application f iled Mar. 3, 1899.; (No- Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

LOUIS II. EEPPELL AND JOI-IN P. Gnorr, or KANSAS CITY, MIssoUEI'.

STREET-CAR FN'IYDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,156, dated January so, 1900.

Application filed March 3, 1899. Serial No. '70 7,683. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be itknown that we, LOUIS H. REPPELL and JOHN P. GROFF, of Kansas City, Jackson county, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Car Fenders, of which the following is a specication.

Our invention relates to street-car fenders; and our object is to produce a device of this character which is in direct control of the motorman or gripman, which can be maintained at any desired distance from the trackbed, which will automatically. adjust itself to irregularities in the surface of the track and will swing laterally to accommodate itself to the curves in the track, and which may be folded compactly at the front side of the dashboard, so as to occupy the least possible space.

With this object in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the invention may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a carfender embodying our invention as arranged in operative position. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same in its folded position, one part being broken away and another sectioned to clearly disclose features which would otherwise be hid from view. Fig. 3 represents a rear view of the fender. Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the body portion of the fender.

In the said drawings, 1 designates the licor or platform of an electric or grip car, and 2 the front dashboard thereof.

3 designates a pair of vertical loops secured to the platform at the rear side of the dashboard, and 4 a pair of brackets secured to the under side of the dashboard.

5 designates a pair of S-shaped bars which are pivoted near their rear ends to the brackets 4, as at 6, and 7 an inverted-U-shaped frame pivoted at its lower ends to the rear ends of the bars 5 and having its bridgel or horizontal portion extending through the guide-loops 3, said U-shaped frame being provided at its middle with an upwardly-projecting arm terminating at its upper end in a footpiece 8 and formed in its front edge with a series of notches 9 and some distance above the same with a single notch 10. The bars 5 `to the sides of said side bars 16.

near their front ends are connected by a cross-bar 11, formed or provided with a centrally-located pin 12 and near its ends with depending pins 13 for a purpose which will be hereinafter explained. Forward of said bar the bars 5 are provided with upwardlyprojecting ears 14 and at suitable points with the depending lugs 15 and hooks 151. l

The fender proper, or rather the body portion of the fender, is in the form of a rectangular frame, and consists of the parallel side bars 16,a front bar 17,connecting bars 16 short of their front ends, and the rear cross-bar 18, the latter being pivoted at its center upon the pin 12 (see Fig. 4) and having its ends curved forward, as at 19, so as to provide space between it and the pins 13, to the end that said frame may swing pivotally toward one side or the other,'this movement being limited by contact with the pins 13. As it is not desirable, of course, to have this frame swinging when the car is traveling in a straight line, there is secured to the rear edge of the bar 18 a spring 18, having its opposite ends bearing forward against the pins 13. By this arrangement it is obvious that movement toward either side will be resisted by the engagement of the spring with the pin at the opposite side of the frame, but that this spring will yield readily to pressure upon the fender, as occurs each time the car rounds a curve, in a manner which will hereinafter be explained. This rectangular frame has stretched across the space a woven-wire mattress 20, upon which the person or object is deposited and sustained when picked up by the fender. The front end of the fender is mounted upon small track-Wheels 2l,arranged at the inner sides of bars 16, and 22 designates a buffer, of rubber or equivalent material, which extends from one side of the frame to thev other in advance of the wheels and at its ends is bent around and secured, as at 23, It will thus be seen that the object struck and picked up by this fender will not be injured, as the buffer will yield (see dotted lines, Fig. 4) and by its reactionary power tend to raise and deposit the object upon the mattress. Our all-rubber or equivalent buer wil yield instantly under contact with a relatively small object and in yielding will sprin g IOO downward as well as rearward, and thereby prevent the person or object from getting under the fender.

25 designates an upright rectangular frame covered with yielding material, such as wiregauze, as shown at 26, and pivoted at its lower end, as shown at 27, to the ears 14 of bars 5, the upper end of said frame being formed with extensions 23, which engage the vertical slotted guide-frames 29, said extensions 28 being connected by chains 30 to the eyebolts 24. These chains are provided to sustain the weight of an object on the fender in case the wheels are lifted off the track, it being obvious that the fender would probably be injured if some substitute were not employed for the wheels when functionless by being elevated above the track.

32 designates an approximately U-shaped bracket which is secured upon the platform or oor of the car, and 33 a dog pivoted in said bracket and terminatingin a bent end or tooth adapted for engagement with one of the notches 9 or notch 10.

34 designates a light spring which is secured to the dog, and, pressing against a cross-pin 34 of the bracket, tends to hold said dog in engagement with one of said notches, and 35 designates a spring which is secured to the platform or floor 1 and is adapted to either assist the spring 34 in holding said dog in engagement with either of said notches or by engagement with the rear of said dog hold it out of engagement with said notches.

Supposing the fender to be in its operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, it may be held in said position by the engagement of the dog with the lowest notch 9 of the series, the dog being held in engagement with the said notch by the combined power of spring 34 and spring 35 pressing upward and rearward against said dog, as shown at Fig. 2. lf it be desired to elevate the fender slightly on account of som ethin g upon the track-bed or for any other reason, all the motorman is required to do to accomplish this is to press his foot against the meeting ends of the spring 35 and dog 33 and operate both, and then permits the spring to engage the outer side of the dog and hold it out of engagement with the said notch. The lnotorman then places his foot upon the footpiece 8 and, pressing downward upon the same, raises the front end of the fender the desired distance, and then by again depressing spring 35 permits spring 34 to force the dog into engagement with a different notch 9. Should it be desired to throw the fender to its folded position, as shown in Fig. 3, the pressure upon the foot-piece 8 is continued until the dog 33 is opposite the notch 10. The spring' 35 is then depressed to permit spring 34 to throw the doginto engagement with said notch in the manner above explained.

To lower the fender at any desired time, it is only necessary to press with the foot against the lower end of the dog to disengage it from the notch, when this action will be immediately followed by the gravitative depression of the fender, because its center of gravity is forward of its pivotal point 6. (See Fig. 2.)

When using this fender upon a grip-car, where the gripman stands in the center of the car, means are provided to manipulate the dog 33 without requiring the gri pman to walk to the front end of the car. This means consists of a vertical bolt 36, provided with a footpiece 37 and a bifurcation 38, a spring 39 eX- erting its power continuously to elevate the bolt and hold it out of engagement with the hook of the longitudinal rod 40, mounted in the bracket 41 and having its front end about in contact with the dog 33. A collar is secured rigidly upon the rod 40, and an expansive spring 43, surrounding said rod, bears at its opposite ends against one of the brackets 41 and said collar and advances the latter, and incidentally the rod, as the hook of the latter is disengaged from the bifurcation 33 of bolt 36, this being accomplished by the gripman placing his foot upon the foot-piece 37 and depressing the bolt until its bifurcation and the loop of the rod 40 are disengaged. The forward movement of the spring-actuated rod 40 of course trips the dog and permits the fender to instantly fall to its inoperative p0- sition, as will be readily understood.

As the wheels of the fender are some distance in advance of the car, their engagement with the rail causes the fender to swing laterally on the pivot 12, the spring 1Sn of course yielding to accommodate this movement.

44 designates a pair of chains which are secured permanently to the lugs 15 and detachably at their opposite ends to the hooks 15a hereinbefore referred to or hooks 45, depending from bars 16. Vhen the chains are engaged with the hooks 15a, they occn py their inoperative position, and the gripman or motorman may raise or lower the fender without interference on the part of the chains. When they engage the hooks 45, however, they act as a check upon the pivotal movement of the lower portion of the fender upon the pivot-pin l2, permitting the lower portion of the fender to have only sufficient movement upon the pivot for the wheels 21 to keep the track in turning corners. When the chains are so arranged and the said portion of the fender strikes an object near or at one side, the fender cannot swing a sufficient distance to injure the spring 18, because the paths of movement of the hooks 45 and front ends of the chains attached thereto intersect-that is to say, the hooks attempt to turn with the pivotpin 12 as a center of movement, While the centers of movement of the chains are the lugs 15. It will thus be seen that the slight lateral movement of the lower part of the fender stretches the chain-at the side from which the fender swings to its full capacity, when the swinging movement must cease or the chain or a connecting part break, as will be readily understood. These chains are designed to relieve the spring,particularly when tif the Wheels 21 are raised slightly off the track, because the flanges of the wheels when upon the track will tend to resist any lateral movement beyond that given by the curvature of the track itself.

As the operation of the various parts has been explained, it is believed that a recapitulation of the entire operation is unnecessary, and it is to be understood that while We have shown the preferred embodiment of our invention we reserve the right to make all changes which properly fall within its spirit and scope.

Having thus described the invention, what We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a street-car fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a frame carried thereby, slotted brackets secured to the dashboard, a frame pivoted to said bars and engaging said slotted brackets, a toothed frame pivoted to said bars, and a dog engaging one of the teeth of said frame to hold the fender at the desired point of adjustment, substantially as described.

2. In a street-car fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a cross-bar engaging said bars, aframe pivoted upon said cross-bar to swing in a substantially horizontal plane, and a pair of chains engaging said pair of bars and the pivoted'frame, substantially as described.

3. In a street-car fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a cross-bar engaging said bars and provided with a pivotpin at its center and a pin near each end, a frame pivoted upon said pivot pin, and a spring secured to the rear end of said frame and having its ends pressing forwardly against the pins near the ends of the crossbar, substantially as described.

4. In a streetcar fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a cross-bar engaging said bars and provided with a pivotpin at its center and a pin near each end, a frame pivoted upon said pivot-pin, a spring secured to the rear end of said frame and having its ends pressing forwardly against the pins near the ends of the cross-bar, and a pair of chains connecting said pivoted bars to the said pivoted frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In a street-car fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a frame carried thereby and provided with wheels to run upon the car-tracks, and a buer extending across the front end of said frame, which springs downward and rearward when striking an object on the track, a guard-frame also pivoted to said bars and having its upper end arranged to reciprocate vertically, chains connecting the upper end with the front portion of the first-named frame, a spring-actuated dog to hold the fender at the desired point of adjustment, and means to trip said dog and permit the fender to fall to its operative position, substantially as described.

6. In a street-car fender, a pair of bars pivoted to the front end of the car, a frame carried thereby and provided with wheels to run upon the car-tracks, a buffer extending across the front end of said frame, which springs downward and rearward when striking an object on the track, a guard-frame also pivoted to said bars and having its upperv end arranged to reciprocate vertically, chains connecting the upper end of said frame With the front portion of the firstnamed frame, a spring-actuated dog to hold the fender at the desired point of adjustment, a depressible bifurcated bolt, a slide-rod formed with a hook engaging said bifurcated bolt, and a spring to force said slide-rod forward to trip the dog when said bifurcated bolt is depressed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS H. REPPELL. JOHN P. GROFF.

Witnesses:

M. R. REMLEY, C. F. BARTHoLoMEEs. 

